Happy Mother’s Day! Kindergarten kids celebrate their moms

TUPELO – Homemade cards with the words, “I love you, Mom,” go straight to the heart on this Mother’s Day.
A bunch of cards have been hand-delivered by students in Blair Curtis’ kindergarten class at Carver Elementary School.
Earlier in the week, kids cut pastel construction paper into hearts and flowers. Some drew tiny portraits of their moms, and others used a rainbow of colors to illustrate their deep appreciation.
As they worked on their masterpieces, they considered the wonder that is Mom.
Miranda Guerrero, 6, said her “very pretty” mom “does stuff for me. She puts clothes on me. She makes me soup every day, but sometimes not.”
Her mom also is a good baseball player, and that’s rare for a mom, according to Curtis’ students. Moms, it seems, are happy to play games, but they’re not very good at them.
“This game called Trouble, we play,” said 6-year-old South McCoy. “I usually win all the time, but sometimes she wins.”
On the plus side, South’s mom has skills that come in handy when he’s hurt or sick.
“My brother is kind of sick right now. She’s taking care of him,” he said, adding that his mom also makes great spaghetti.
The game is basketball for 6-year-old Dontae Brock. His mom takes him to the park, where they shoot hoops.
“I beat her,” he said.
Dontae’s mom has positive attributes, too. She buys new shoes and toys, and fixes bacon.
“She helps me reach stuff,” he said, stretching his arms into the air.
Brodie King is 5, but his birthday is this month, so he’d like everyone to go ahead and say he’s 6.
Anyway, Brodie has somewhat nice things to say about his mother’s soccer skills.
“We kick it around,” he said. “She’s good, but I’m better than her.”
Reece Bell, 6, and his mom play hide and seek, but she could use lessons.
“I’m the best hider,” Reece said, but he probably didn’t want that fact to affect his mom’s self-esteem: “She’s the best mom in the world.”
That was a bold statement from young Reece, and it might’ve been challenged had the other students heard it. No one else gave such a straight-forward endorsement, but all of the kids had good things to say about the most important ladies in their lives.
Carter Smith, 6, appreciates the little things.
“She helps me get the water running and warm in the tub,” he said. “She gets splinters out of me. You know, big ones out of my foot.”
Carter said his mom can be gullible at times. Every now and then, he pulls a fast one on her.
“Sometimes, I fall asleep and she picks me up and takes me to bed,” he said. “Sometimes, I trick her. I fall asleep but wake up. I close my eyes and she still carries me.”
Rhea Ramesh, 6, knows being a mom is a tough job because she gets to pretend to be a mom during visits with her baby cousin.
Back at home, Rhea and her mom enjoy quality time outdoors.
“We plant together, apple trees and blueberry trees,” she said. “We’ve got to watch out for snakes and the ants. Got to watch out for those.”
Shaniya Cannady, 6, likes to help with the shopping and the cooking. Her mother reciprocates by helping with homework and letting Shaniya go across the street to visit her friend.
“She lets me have a party sometimes,” Shaniya said, “and she took me to eat yesterday because I did good in the gym on my songs.”
Carson Jones, 6, and his mother go shopping together, but that’s not always fun.
“We mostly go to stores with clothes that don’t fit me,” he said. “I only get to look at girls’ stuff.”
But his mom fixes chicken, as well as tacos, and there are special trips to Taco Bell.
Carson’s face lit up in a way that practically screamed, “I love you, Mom,” when he remembered a favorite pastime: “We snuggle,” he said. “That’s what we do.”
scott.morris@journalinc.com